Multi-Branch Knowledge-Assisted Proximal Policy Optimization for Design of MS-to-MS Vertical Transition with Multi-Layer Pixel Structures

Wu, Ze-Ming; Li, Zheng; Liang, Ruo-Yu; Li, Xiao-Chun; Ning, Ken; Mao, Jun-Fa

doi:10.3390/electronics14183723

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Multi-Branch Knowledge-Assisted Proximal Policy Optimization for Design of MS-to-MS Vertical Transition with Multi-Layer Pixel Structures

by

Ze-Ming Wu

¹

,

Zheng Li

¹,

Ruo-Yu Liang

¹,

Xiao-Chun Li

^1,*

,

Ken Ning

^2,*

and

Jun-Fa Mao

²

¹

The State Key Laboratory of Radio Frequency Heterogeneous Integration, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

²

The State Key Laboratory of Radio Frequency Heterogeneous Integration, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Electronics 2025, 14(18), 3723; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14183723

Submission received: 15 August 2025 / Revised: 14 September 2025 / Accepted: 18 September 2025 / Published: 19 September 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Microwave and Wireless Communications)

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Abstract

This article proposes a wideband microstrip-to-microstrip vertical transition with multi-layer pixel structures, alongside a multi-branch knowledge-assisted proximal policy optimization (MB-KPPO) method for its automatic design. The proposed transition consists of the three-layer pixel structures with high design degrees of freedom to realize a wide bandwidth. The MB-KPPO adopts a multi-branch policy network instead of a single-branch policy network in the PPO to improve design efficiency. In addition, the MB-KPPO integrates a fully connected shape generation mechanism to incorporate physical requirements. An MS-to-MS vertical multi-layer pixel transition is designed and fabricated by PCB technology. Measurement results show that the multi-layer transition has a frequency range from 3.5 to 17.8 GHz, with a bandwidth that is 25% higher than the single-layer pixel transition towards higher frequencies.

Keywords: design; reinforcement learning; proximal policy optimization; multi-layer pixel structures; microstrip-to-microstrip transition

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MDPI and ACS Style

Wu, Z.-M.; Li, Z.; Liang, R.-Y.; Li, X.-C.; Ning, K.; Mao, J.-F. Multi-Branch Knowledge-Assisted Proximal Policy Optimization for Design of MS-to-MS Vertical Transition with Multi-Layer Pixel Structures. Electronics 2025, 14, 3723. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14183723

AMA Style

Wu Z-M, Li Z, Liang R-Y, Li X-C, Ning K, Mao J-F. Multi-Branch Knowledge-Assisted Proximal Policy Optimization for Design of MS-to-MS Vertical Transition with Multi-Layer Pixel Structures. Electronics. 2025; 14(18):3723. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14183723

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wu, Ze-Ming, Zheng Li, Ruo-Yu Liang, Xiao-Chun Li, Ken Ning, and Jun-Fa Mao. 2025. "Multi-Branch Knowledge-Assisted Proximal Policy Optimization for Design of MS-to-MS Vertical Transition with Multi-Layer Pixel Structures" Electronics 14, no. 18: 3723. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14183723

APA Style

Wu, Z.-M., Li, Z., Liang, R.-Y., Li, X.-C., Ning, K., & Mao, J.-F. (2025). Multi-Branch Knowledge-Assisted Proximal Policy Optimization for Design of MS-to-MS Vertical Transition with Multi-Layer Pixel Structures. Electronics, 14(18), 3723. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14183723

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Multi-Branch Knowledge-Assisted Proximal Policy Optimization for Design of MS-to-MS Vertical Transition with Multi-Layer Pixel Structures

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